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New World Order, Part 1
New World Order, Part 1 is the eighth chapter of Volume 14. It was released on July 29, 2013 Synopsis San Franscisco is in chaos! Can the SFPD defeat the host of horrors the firstborn had unleashed upon the city? Plot SFPD Commissioner Maria Yeong and Lieutenant Charles Anders are barking orders at the people in the bullpen. Anders is tired and marvels at how Maria did such a stressful job for so long. She tells him that she'll share her trade secrets after the whole fiasco is over, but for now, keep moving (which is Trade Secret Number One). They receive a call from Mal Fallon, who informs them that him and Natara Williams have found Genevieve Collin's body. Natara seems to be in a daze from her death. The two received reports of a suspicious black sedan with tinted windows leaving the scene, which they believe was the Firstborn's getaway car. Maria urges Mal to find the Firstborn right away, then hangs up and keys in a call to Amy Chen. She tells the data analyst to find the car Mal told her about, and while Amy says she wants to concentrate on the SWAT op she's currently working on (the first she's done since she came back), the Commissioner tells her to multitask. They get another call, from SF Tribune employee Denni this time, and it turns out that one of the three serial killers set on the city, a bomber, is at the San Francisco Library. Denni is videotaping the bomber for the newspaper. Colt is being rational and trying to get her out of there, but she won't listen. Denni decides to set off the mine that the bomber planted, because no one is around so no one will get hurt. The bomber spots them and chases after them. They manage to reach Colt's motorcycle and drive off, but the bomber chases them in an old rusty pickup truck, throwing bombs at them, which they dodge. They lead the bomber to a roadblock of SFPD officers, and when he pulls the pin on a grenade is about to launch it at them, Joe Bartaugh shoots him four times in the chest. The grenade harms only the killer, existing now only as a messy stain on the concrete. When Denni reacts surprised at his badassery, Joe is initially flattered, but then upset at the notion of it being a 'surprise.' Meanwhile, Amy is overseeing Jeremy Redbird and Blaise Corso's SWAT operation at a corporate building in the Financial District. There is a grey-haired man in a preacher's collar in the building keeping a group of hostages, holding a pump shotgun. He is giving a speech when of how money is the root of all evil, and will get rid of evil starting with the people he is holding hostage. Because Jeremy does not have a clear shot, he tells the SWAT Bravo Team to move to the west entrance, but the preacher spots them and begins shooting. When the team falls back, he presses the barrel of his gun to a hostage's face, causing Blaise to declare she'll sneak in. When Jeremy tries to stop her and they begin bickering, Amy scolds them. Finally, Blaise manages to convince Jeremy to allow to her to go. She shoots the preacher just as he was about to execute a hostage. He chases after her through the cubicles, but Blaise evades him and puts a bullet through his shoulder. Jeremy then shoots the preacher in the leg (instead of the chest, as he was wearing a bulletproof vest). The preacher goes for the hostages, prompting Blaise to make her move to take him out. But when she shoots him, his shotgun sprays bullets wildly, hitting Blaise in the arm. Jeremy recklessly rushes into the building to Blaise's side, making sure she's okay. They quibble a little about how Jeremy was worried, with him calling Blaise a pyscho and her calling him a nerd. They share a brief moment, smiling warmly at each other, Jeremy forgetting that his arm is still around her, both of them seeming to forget that Amy can see every look and hear every word. SFPD Forensic Tech Kai Kalaba is examing the dead body of the eight victim of the Mission Street Killer on a deserted, shadowy stretch of Mission Street. He speaks into a recording device, noting that while the victim has bruises on his neck, there are physical signs consistent with a drowning death, despite the fact that they are very far from any natural body of water. Kai hears shuffling in the alley behind him and approaches warily, thinking it is backup, but a chain catches him by the throat. It is the Mission Street Killer, who drags Kai down into the sewer, where he drowned his other victims. He plunges Kai's head into the water, who struggles to no avail. As seconds pass by, Kai's mind races, flashing from one thought to the next ("Am I going to die?" "I wish I could fight." "Was Boone scared before he died?" "This might be the end... I always thought I'd be holding a sword." "I hope Amy doesn't have to see me, after." "Who will tell Kara?" 'Can't remember the last thing I said to my mom... I hope it was something nice..." "Will my brother cry at the funeral? He never cries." "Grampa... Grampa's cooking was the best... I'll never taste it again...") as he resists. It feels as if his mind disconnects from his body, and Kai continues to think ("Firstborn... will kill my friends... Wish I was a hero..." "What would Mal do? ...What would Ken do? Aren't I... Better than this?...") He manages to fight back, before the killer pulls a knife on him. Kai watches as a dark figure behind the killer takes the shape of a man with a knife blade between his teeth. It is Reed Harrow, and with frightening speed and ferocity, he claps a hand over the killer's mouth then raises the massive knife blade and drives it into his shoulder like a railroad spike. Reed locks eyes with Kai for a moment before turning to the killer and demands to know where the Firstborn is. The killer doesn't know, but stumbles toward Kai and puts a switchblade to his knife, threatening to kill him. Reed, in one lightning-fast motion, flings his knife with deadly accuracy into the assailant's forehead. He and Kai fall into the water, and as he tries to get up, Reed steps toward him. Kai asks what he's doing here, and Reed replies, "What I've always been doing. Tracking the Firstborn." Kai tells him he still doesn't know what to think of him, making Reed ask if saving his life is good enough to earn him a truce, for now, offering a hand to him. Kai considers it for a moment before clasping it firmly and pulling himself to his feet, saying, "Yeah. I guess it is." Later, Mal and Natara arrive at the docks, finding the black sedan—Firstborn's getaway car—parked diagonally against the curb. That, plus the hood that is still warm, makes Mal think they arrived recently and left in a hurry. He starts moving toward a ship he thinks the Firstborn is on when he notices Natara lagging, seemingly lost in thought. Mal asks her if she is all right, with Natara responding that Genevieve is dead. Mal says other victims deserve sympathy more than her, but Natara tells her that's not it: "Alex was willing to kill her own mother. What are we going up against?" He says he doesn't know, but he knows he won't back down as long as she's by his side. She tells him that what she means is that nothing matters more than catching the Firstborn. They've seen what he's capable of, and that both of their lives are nothing compared to stopping this horror. Though Mal feels a heavy pit in his stomach, he bites his lip, draws his gun and says they should then go ahead and stop it. It begins to rain as the two board the boat. Thunder rumbles as they search the ship, but find no trace of the Firstborn. Suddenly the ship begins to move and they realise this is exactly what the Firstborn wanted, to trap them. Elsewhere on the boat, the Firstborn watches them, grinning. Bonus Scene The criminal hacker Kingfisher is stitching clips of things like City Hall burning, coroners wheeling body bag after body bag, citizens running through the city, screaming in absolute terror into a montage of chaos. Even he finds it stunning, but decides the video needs some background music. As he searches for a song, his ringing phone interrupts him. He answers, and it is the Firstborn, asking how everything is coming along. Kingfisher tells him everything is on schedule. The Firstborn is pleased, but tells him the schedule's been accelerated. When the hacker asks why that is, Firstborn responds with, "Because I'm impulsive. And spontaneous. And too damn excited." When he says that the Kingfisher doesn't usually asks questions, he says that he was just wondering what it's in it for him. The Firstborn says cash, another day where he doesn't kill him in a vice grip, and "not to mention all of the lemon-lime soda you can drink." When Kingfisher says they actually call it 'pop' where he's from, the Firstborn interrupts with, "Don't. Don't you ever call it 'pop' ever again! I have flayed men alive for less than this." Kingfisher meekly agrees, and the Firstborn tells him it's just one of his things. He continues, saying there's one last piece he's working on for their video, enlisting Fallon and Williams' help with it as they speak. Because they've been such good sports so far, he definitely wants to give them the grand finale they deserve.